


The Places of the Underground

by Creativity_s_Loyal_Servant



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Exploration, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, POV First Person, Suicide Attempt, chara and asriel., major character death cuz yknow, other than that it's all gen, suicide attempt refers to charas want in beginning, therefore it is now rated t
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-05
Updated: 2017-01-10
Packaged: 2018-09-06 17:11:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8761864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Creativity_s_Loyal_Servant/pseuds/Creativity_s_Loyal_Servant
Summary: When Chara fell into the Underground, they met Asriel. And their journey in the Underground began, through the many places below the Surface. All of which were horribly named by the King. Oh, boy.





	1. Home

**Author's Note:**

> So hi! I've been meaning to write something Undertale related, but I wasn't sure what. Then I decided, 'you know, maybe I should try writing about the different places in the Underground and associate that with Chara's memories.' So I did.
> 
> The places will go in the following order: Home, New Home, Hotland + Core (these might be separate, but I'm not sure yet,) Waterfall, Snowdin and the Ruins. Therefore, either 6 or 7 chapters.
> 
> Hope you'll enjoy the story and this first chapter!

It all happened so quickly.

I remembered sneaking away at night from home and climbing Mt. Ebott. I don't know what drew me to that place above all the rest; it simply felt right to climb it. I remember staring down at the gaping abyss that sat at the very top of the mountain.

I remember taking one step into it, and the feeling of stable ground left me in place of the rushing wind that whipped past my ears as I fell deeper and deeper into the darkness.

I remember hitting the ground, _hard_. I remember losing consciousness and embracing the edges of black that eventually consumed my vision whole.

I remember wanting to die. That this would be my final moment in this cursed world.

Yet, I don’t remember the part of my plan in waking up. To be alive and breathing.

I don't remember the part of my plan in landing in a tuft of grass amongst corroding stone pillars.

This wasn't supposed to happen.

I look down. My head hurts, my hands smart and my body aches. Nothing, however, feels broken, aside from mere bruises that were beginning to form. I examined my hands. They were covered in dirt and littered with small cuts.

I scowl down at them.

My plan failed. Had it succeeded, I would have ended it as painless as it could get. Instead, I ache all over and am in pain. What a failure.

There's rustling behind one of the pillars.

“Who's there?” I snap, mentally cursing at myself for the slight waver in my voice.

There's silence. A head pops up from behind the pillar. It isn't human.

“H-Howdy.” The person (would ‘monster’ be the right word, considering how its appearance was nothing like a human, save for its bipedal form) speaks, soft as it waves shyly.

I stare at it, observing it with narrowed eyes. The furry white monster wore a striped shirt of lime green and lemon yellow with a pair of black pants. Its ears drooped on both sides of its head and flopped with any slight movement it made. Its mouth was curved into a fanged smile that held no menace.

“Who are you and where am I?” I wanted to get up, but my body screamed too much in pain for it to follow through with my orders.

“I-I'm… Asriel! Asriel Dreemurr.” It offers a hand of welcome and help.

I take his hand. His smile grows wider as he tugs me up onto my feet. I stumble a little but eventually steady myself.

“Where am I?” I repeat myself, firmly but somehow less harsh.

The monster, Asriel, scratches his neck and stares at the ground, not knowing what to say.

“Well… this probably sounds k-kind of weird but…” He stutters and falters for a moment. “You're in the monster world, right now.”

“Monster…?” I frown. Weren’t monsters a figment of fairy tales and fictional stories?

“Yeah! I’m a monster.” He gestures to himself with a nervous smile. “The rest of our people here are monsters too! We were sealed down here from-”

“The war with the humans, correct? You lost the war and now you’re trapped down here.” I finish his sentence quietly. “So, the stories are real.”

“Yeah… do the people in the Surface not believe what happened to us?”

“They don’t.”

“Oh. Do you… not believe it either?”

“... Well.” I quirk a small smile. “ I do now.”

His smile widens into a bigger grin.

“You’re lucky that I was exploring the place, or I wouldn’t have ever found you here!” Asriel laughs, clawed hands on his hips. “You should come with me! I haven’t explored some parts of the Ruins yet, and maybe you’d want to get used to this place?”

I want to say, “No, thanks, I’d rather find a way out of here. Do you have any climbing equipment that I could use?”

I want to say, “No, thanks. I’d rather be alone.”

I want to say, “How am I supposed to trust you when we’ve just met? Your kind have been treated with cruelty from mine and you have all the reason right now to hurt me.”

I want to ask, “Why do you care?”

But I don’t say anything.

Instead, I reciprocate Asriel’s smile and say-

“Sure.”

* * *

He takes me around the Ruins, away from the hole I fell from. Surprisingly, despite Asriel telling me that the Ruins were technically deserted (they had moved from here, to a newer place, called New Home. He also tells me that the king, who is his dad, is really bad with naming places,) I still see a few monsters nonchalantly minding their own businesses. Some of them fix their gazes on the two of us - _me_ , I realise, slightly uncomfortable- but they don’t approach.

He pulls me along through a doorway, with a view that leads to a city, proud and grand, yet its roads and paths deserted and empty.

“This is Home! As in, the title, ‘Home’, not my home.” Asriel adds, gesturing proudly at the sight before scratching his cheek in thought. “Actually, I think this would count as home, though it isn’t my home anymore, since we moved to New Home.”

“Your dad isn’t very good with names, is he?” I ask, though immediately regret the words, in fear that Asriel might take offense.

He doesn’t, and instead giggles.

“Yeah, he’s terrible! There’s this place just before New Home that’s really cool and it’s filled with lava and magma. And Dad called it _‘_ _Hotland._ _’”_ He pulls a face at the title.

I snort and laugh, though immediately hiss and cringe as a sharp pain strikes my head. Asriel’s happy expression falters and turns into a concerned one.

“W-What’s wrong? Are you okay?” He hurries to my side and puts his hands on my shoulders.

“My head hurts…” I manage to mumble out, trying to focus on the grip of Asriel’s hands on my shoulders and my breathing.

“Oh no…” He utters, a worrisome look crosses his features. “I'm sorry, we shouldn't have walked around, I'm so dumb to think that you'd be okay from that long fall.” Asriel frets and he goes on a ramble that fades into white static.

I can't focus on him as the sharp throbs begin to become overwhelming. In the corner of my eye, I see Asriel turn to me to speak but his words filter into meaningless noise. I screw my eyes shut. This is too much. This _pain_ is too much. Too much, too much, _too much-_

I feel a small tug on my arm and I blearily open my eyes. Asriel is still talking and it's still muffled but his action of tugging at my hand gets me to see what he's trying to say.

_Come with me._

And I did. Despite the painful stabs at my head, my legs fall forward to continue walking and Asriel kindly guides me with his hand firmly grasped on my shoulder. My eyes rest on my muddy boots and Asriel’s fuzzy feet, but I don't look up. Somehow, I feel safe in his hands. Secured.

He leads me out of Home, and my vision begins to swim in and out.

I recall faint glimpses of snow and leafless trees before losing myself to the pain and warmth exuding from Asriel’s comforting support.


	2. New Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A few days after the fall, Chara begins to get used to the Underground. Asriel brings them around to meet some friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyooo, back again! This one's really long too, but I hope it isn't too lengthy and boring. There's two OCs, one minor and one sorta major one but they only appear in this chapter and nothing else. So I hope y'all don't mind that. Other than that, please enjoy this second chapter of this series!

“Chara! Chara!”

I hear Asriel bound to the side of my bed, and can almost sense the enthusiasm in his step and a big grin plastered on his face.

“Come on, Mom’s bringing us to New Home for groceries while Dad’s making his speech! I can introduce you to a few friends while we’re there too!” He exclaims, excited, and I can almost hear him bouncing on the balls of his feet.

I shift away from the blankets, and sit up to smile at him.

“I’m up. I’ll be ready in a few minutes.”

Asriel’s smile widens as he nods in response before ducking out of the room with a skip in his step. I can’t help but smirk at that as I slide out of bed.

It's been a few days since I've fallen into the Underground, which is what King Asgore had dubbed it (while it does sound simplistic and to the point, it has a nice ring to it.) During my “state of unconsciousness,” Asriel managed to transport me back to his home, located in New Home. After I came to, Queen Toriel had came over and healed my head injury with her… magic.

I was reluctant at first but her motherly aura and her kind, warm smile made me gave in.

“Do not be afraid, my child.” She had said, making her movements ginger and gentle. “I do not wish to hurt you, but to heal you and explain this situation you are in.”

And Toriel did. She explained how this was indeed the realm of monsters that I had fallen into, but they had wished no harm on humans despite the war that led them to be trapped here. They wouldn't despair in these trying times, and she, the Queen and her King, Asgore Dreemurr, would make sure that the people were happy.

“Yeah!” Asriel had interjected with a cheer. “Mom and Dad will do their best in leading this place!”

Toriel simply laughed.

“That we will, and we will do our very best in taking care of you. The two of you.” The Queen turned to look at me. I startled.

“Me?”

“Yes. Is that an issue?” Toriel had asked, with genuine concern.

“N-No, it's just that- I don't want to cause you any trouble with my presence around. C-Couldn't I just leave through the barrier? M-Maybe a human can get across it no problem!” I had attempted to reason with her, but Toriel only gave a sad smile.

“I would let you, my child, but the Barrier can only be crossed should a person have both a monster and human soul. You cannot cross it unless…” She trailed off, not meeting eyes.

‘... Unless I kill a monster.’ I finished silently, a shiver running down my spine.

The silence lingered for a while longer before the Queen gently grasped my hand. I look up into her reddish eyes filled with nothing but kindness.

“Do not worry. We will take care of you the best we can until we are all freed from this place.”

“... Thank you.”

And the rest of it is history.

I can't help but to think back on it as I straighten and neaten up my bed. She had all the reason to not take me in but she did. Even if I was related to the species that had trapped her kind down here.

… I've never seen so much kindness from a person in my village, ever.

I flatten the creases out of my green and yellow sweater before exiting Asriel’s room (there had been a spare bed there, which was _extremely_ comfortable and cozy for sleeping in.) I walk down the hall into the living room (dining room? Study room?) to see the Royal family sitting together, making casual conversation. Asriel is the first one to notice me.

“Morning, Chara!” He chirps brightly, getting up from his seat to greet me.

“Morning, Asriel.”

“Ah, good morning, Chara.” Comes the low rumble of King Asgore, who simply smiles.

“G-Good morning, sir! And miss!” I quickly nod to Toriel as well, not wanting to be rude.

The King chuckles along with the Queen, who giggles. What was so funny?

“Child, you need not refer to us with such honorifics. Just Asgore and Toriel will do. We are now family, after all.” Asgore gently states and I feel myself fluster.

“I'm sorry.”

“There is no need to apologise, you did nothing wrong.” Toriel comments, standing and walking towards me to ruffle my hair. “Now, are you ready to head off into the city, or do you require some more time?”

“N-No, I'm good.” I answer, and rub the back of my neck.

“Very well, then let us go now.”

And we set off, with the family of three in the very front, and me, trailing behind.

* * *

 Toriel pulls Asriel and I along through the many twists and turns of New Home. Asgore had immediately made his way to the centre of the capital, where quite a number of people were waiting. Unlike the Dreemurr family’s appearance with their white fur and horns, the other monsters varied in their looks; some had scales, were short but bulky, wings that spanned up to three feet. There were some with multiple arms and legs and some with none. There was everything in between and it was all… fascinating.

Eventually, Toriel stops the two of us in front of a shop. She turns to the two of us.

“Now, Asriel, Chara, do not stray too far from here, will you? I do not want the two of you getting lost.” She reminds us with a patient smile.

“Don't worry, Mom! We won't!” Asriel straightens himself with a confident grin.

“I trust that you both will not. Be good, will you not?” Toriel pats the both of us on the head before she heads into the store, an empty basket in hand to hold the groceries.

“Will do.” I mumble just as Asriel tugs him firmly towards another part of the street.

“Come on, Chara! There’s a few friends I want to introduce you to!” Asriel announces in an uplifting tone as he nearly drags me forward before swerving to the left of a quaint home, just several shop lots away from where Toriel was at.

He raps on the door with earnest, and eventually, footsteps fade in and fingers latch on the door knob to slowly pull the door open. The door swings open to reveal a slime monster, translucent with a purple hue with two small green goo leaves sticking out from its- _their_ , head.

“Ah, hello, Asriel. How are you today?” They nonchalantly bubble as they lean against the door frame, almost lazy.

“I’m good, Mr. Murasaki! Can Squish come out to play with us?”

The slime simply blinks at us behind his spectacles before calling someone from a few rooms away. Another set of footfalls come, this time in rapid succession before another slime pops behind him. This one is tinted pink and has one leaf curled upon their head.

“Hiya Azzy!” The slime, Squish, burbles brightly. “Let's go and play!”

“You kids be careful, kay?” Mr. Murasaki raises his voice just as Asriel and Squish sprint to the other end of the street.

“Got it.” I shoot a thumbs up before hurrying after them.

Turns out there was a playground set nearby, in which a few monster children were playing. Asriel was perched on top the monkey bars while Squish sat next to him.

“Took ya long enough, Chara!” Asriel swings his legs to and fro before hopping off from the play set. “Squish, this is Chara!” Asriel waves flamboyantly to my end and I wave shyly. “They fell down here a few days ago and they're staying with us! And Chara, this is Squish!” He pats said monster on the shoulder(?) “I hang out with them whenever I come to New Home.”

“So you're a human?” Squish chirps, eying me up and down as they walk around me.

“Y-Yes…?”

“Huh! I didn't know some humans were children like us!” They declare, drawing away from me. “All I ever hear from Papa is that humans were adults like him and that all they ever do was hurt us.”

I flinch at the comment. Asriel hastens to recover and reply.

“W-Well! Chara isn't like that!” He assures, though he glances at me with concern and worry. “They feel really bad about what happened to us… right, Chara?”

I nod.

“Yes… it's horrible that they fought all of you and trapped you down here for years. I'm sorry.” I apologise, on behalf of the world for the crimes of humanity upon monster kind.

Squish seems to let out a noise of understanding.

“Well, you don't seem too bad! You're a really nice human then!” They laugh and I can't help but chuckle at that, relieved. “Say, Chara, was it? Do you know how to play Mock Battles?” They ask, with a bounce of their leaf.

“No. I don't think I've ever heard of it. What's it about?”

“It's about fighting! But fake fighting! It helps us practice our attacking and defending!” Squish explains, as they assume a battle stance. “I'll show you!”

“Squish, wait-!” Asriel reaches out a hand but suddenly the world turns a monochrome black and white and grey.

I stare down at my hands. They're grey as well. Squish is grey too and so is everything else but…

“Whoa…” Squish steps closer to the red heart hovering just near my chest.

“Wh-What is that?” I move away from it, but it only proceeds to spin after me, almost as if it were attached to me.

“Th… That's your soul! A human soul!” Squish gasps, reaching out to touch it. “It's so pretty…”

“I…” I slowly back up, something inside me screaming not to let them make contact.

“ _Chara!”_

Suddenly, the world erupts into the blinding bright colours that I’m used to, and I nearly stumble as I see the heart zip back into me. Before I realise anything, Asriel is holding me up and Toriel is kneeling in front of me, pressing a furry hand to my forehead.

“Child, are you alright? Why were you in a battle with another monster?” She asks a flurry of questions, which I do want to answer, but the words don’t come to me.

“We just wanted to play Mock Battles, Mrs. Dreemurr…” Squish timidly speaks with a waver in their tone. “I didn’t hurt them or anything…”

“It isn’t Chara’s fault, Mom! They didn’t get a say in anything at all!” Asriel protests in full support for me. “Don’t punish them, Mom, please!”

Toriel sighs and pats Asriel’s shoulder while wrapping another arm around my shoulder.

“I will not be punishing anyone. This is no one’s fault. However…” She looks over at Squish, who blanches and turns a paler pink. “Squish, perhaps it would be best to ask for consent before initiating a battle with another.”

“Yes, ma'am.” They quietly answer, shuffling their feet.

She nods, before getting up and adjusting her basket, now filled with various food items and ingredients.

“I am afraid that I will have to take Chara and Asriel along now. Asgore is about to finish his speech and we want to be waiting for him before he is done.” Toriel takes both Asriel’s and my hand in her own. “Take care.”

“See ya, Mrs. Dreemurr!”

As we’re walking back towards the centre where Asgore is still holding his speech, thoughts begin to cloud in my mind. That experience back there with the whole ‘mock battles’ was almost surreal. Were monster battles meant to happen that way, with the world in shades of black and white? And the area was all gridded and laid out like an arena. And…

… What about that heart? What did Squish refer to it- my ‘soul?’

“Hey… Toriel?” I quietly ask and she immediately turns her head towards me.

“Yes, my child?”

“What was… that, that happened back there? A-And what was that heart that was there…?”

Toriel stops in her tracks and sighs. Oh no, did I ask something that I wasn’t supposed to ask? Oh no, no, no, no-

“I wanted to tell you this when you were more comfortable with the Underground, but I suppose I can explain it to you even now.” She descends to my eye level, her expression solemn. “What you experienced back there was a battle. Specifically, a monster battle, since I believe that human battles do not work that way.”

“Wait, really? Humans don’t get to get bullet patterned birthday cards for their birthdays?!” Asriel exclaims, incredulous.

“They do not.” Toriel lets out a small chuckle, her seriousness lightened by Asriel’s comment. “In a monster battle, you will be up against one or more monsters. We monsters use this system for training our young and improving our strength, defense, and agility. But back when there was the war between the humans and monsters,” Her gaze grows sombre. “The battle system was used for fighting. And thus, the heart that appeared in front of you,” She gently brushes my chest. “Was your soul.”

“My soul?” I echo, and she nods.

“Yes. Your soul is the very culmination of your being, and is essentially your lifeline during battles. Should it be hurt enough, it will shatter and as such, you will…” She trails off, and I don’t need to hear the rest of it to understand what happens after. She clears her throat. “As such, I do not want you in battles with other monsters unless it is with Asriel. Speaking of which, Asgore and I will train you to become skill in battling.”

“... Really?”

She smiles.

“Really.”

“Thanks, Mom.” I reciprocate the smile before realising what I said and clasping my mouth. “I-I’m sorry I d-didn’t mean-”

“It is fine.” Toriel murmurs, her shock dissolving into something akin to pride and happiness. “If you wish to call me mother… I do not mind that one bit at all.” She smiles widely and kindly.

“... Thank you, Mom.” I say, and the words come naturally, and sits right.

Toriel beams before gently jerking us along.

“Come. Let us watch Asgore finish his speech.”

It isn't that hard to find the crowd of people surrounding Asgore, who is currently announcing the construction of something called the Core, and it isn't that hard either to squeeze through the crowd to the very front, seeing how almost all the monsters parted like the Red Sea to give way to their Queen.

Despite being in the front lines in the comfort of Mom and Asriel, I can't help but shift uncomfortably as I feel eyes on me and the whispers between each other.

_“Is that a human child?”_

_“Looks like it. What are they doing down here?”_

_“I don't know but the Queen seems awfully protective of them.”_

_“Do you think the King going to announce that he's going to use the human’s soul to-”_

It's at this point that I begin ignoring the murmurs.

“And lastly, before I finish my speech, I would like to introduce you to our newest family member.”

My heart skips a beat.

“While they are not from the Underground, but from the Surface, they will now be part of our royal family and be treated as one of us and one of monster kind. Please, give your warm welcomes to our child, Chara.”

Asgore waves over to me. I freeze. Everybody is giving a round of applause but my legs refuse to move to the stage. My breathing gets heavy but through the midst of the loud, loud noise, Asriel fits his hand into mine and squeezes it with a smile.

“Let's go up there together, Chara.” He says with a grin, and I feel myself swimming in relief and I shoot back a grateful smile.

We ascend the steps, one by one, and slowly inch our way to the spotlight. Mom watches us gingerly from the front, waving a little. I nod briefly before looking upon the vast crowd of monsters.

My legs tremble a little.

“This is Chara.” Asgore places a comforting hand on my shoulders and I fight the urge to look up at him in order to maintain composure. “They are a human child from the Surface, who had fallen here a few days ago. I understand that you may feel… disturbed due to the war we faced with the humans, but we must not charge at the humans with violence, for that is not the answer. Even if they had hurt us, this does not mean we should fight violence with violence. So…” He grips my shoulder a little firmer. “I hope that you can greet my child, Chara, with love and compassion instead.”

There's silence. I bow slightly, to hopefully send across the message that I wasn't going to mean then any harm.

The crowd goes into an uproar of a positive manner, and whooping and clapping goes around. I'm astounded but Asriel simply laughs and nudges me, saying that “for a human that just fell a few days ago, you sure are more popular than I am.”

I can't help but laugh and feel the tender warmth in my chest grow at the excitement and love from these monsters, and the fact that Asgore, Mom and Asriel considered me a part of _their family._


	3. Hotland

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chara heads to Hotland with Asgore and Asriel for a discussion between the adults, but it turns out to be a little bit more than that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided that the Core wouldn't have been built yet. I don't know why, but I've decided it to be that way. Also, the reason why Gaster is referred to as 'they' at first is because Chara respects a person's pronouns and will use 'they/ them/ theirs' until they know their proper pronouns. So there you go.
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter!

”Hotland sure is hot, right, Chara?”

I nod in assent, tugging at the collar of my sweater that constantly falls and sticks against my sweaty neck. I didn't need to figure out the reason for this intense heat, considering how we were passing through an area that was  _ filled with lava. _

Not to mention the fact that occasionally, a burst of hot humid gas blasts into our faces, which is, needless to say, annoying.

“How much further, Dad?” Asriel whines, dragging his feet. His ears flop almost despairingly with each step.

“Soon. We are  almost to the lab.” Asgore replies, his movements slightly sluggish from the heat. I can't imagine how the two of them feel, considering how they have fur to keep them warm and not to cool them down.

“But that's what you said five minutes ago!” Asriel groans, throwing his hands up in frustration.

Asgore lets out a low rumble of a laugh.

“I suppose I did. However, I remember a small furry Boss Monster begging me to take him along with me to the lab.”

I snort as Asriel admits defeat, instead shooting a weak glare at me in an attempt to ignore the heat waves.

The walk to our destination continues in silence save for the gushes of steam and the bubbling of the magma from beneath the path. Eventually, a clean white building breaches my vision, growing bigger in size. There's big chunky black letters over the entrance that read ‘LAB’ very boldly.

“Finally!” Asriel cheers and rushes to the door. Asgore trails behind him and extends a knuckle to knock lightly against the metal door. The sound created is akin to a hollow noise in an empty tin.

It takes a moment or two for the doors to whirr and slide open. A figure cloaked in a sleek pristine lab coat stands in front of it, quirking a smile after glancing away from their clipboard.

“Hello, King Asgore.” The skeleton greets, bowing ever so slightly. “You wished to discuss about the construction of the Core?”

“Yes, I did. May we come in?”

The skeleton’s white pupils flit between Asriel and I, though their gaze lingers on me before they tear it away and steps aside. An uneasiness settles in me as we step inside and it almost vanishes as a cool chill lightly touches my fingers and spreads around my body. I can hear Asriel sighing in relief. The lanky skelly (hah, that rhymes) laughs.

“The heat of Hotland a bit too unbearable for you, Prince Asriel?” The scientist (I deduce that's what they were from the lab coat) teases, setting their clipboard down on a table cluttered with notes and schematics.

“Sorta.” Asriel scratches the back of his head. “And I told you to just call me Asriel, Dr. Gaster!”

“But you are of royalty, are you not? Hence, you are the prince,  _ are you not _ _?”_

“Gaster, do not tease the poor child so much.” Asgore butts in, ruffling Asriel’s head. “I too, have told you to call me Asgore, without the honorific.”

“Very well,  _ Asgore. _ ” They sigh before slinking up towards me. I take a step back. “Ah, and you must be the fallen human. Chara, correct?” He extends a skeletal hand and I can't help but stare at the  _ gaping hole in it. _ “A pleasure to meet you.”

“S-Same here.” I force a smile as I gingerly take his hand and shake it.

“Chara, this is Dr. Windings Gaster, our Royal Scientist in the Underground. He is in charge of anything related to the Barrier and constructions that may help make life easier on us during our time down here.” Asgore explains, wandering near multiple black boards and white boards that have notes and details scribbled on them, all of which were about ‘the Core.’ “He may seem scary and mysterious at first, but I can assure you that he is a kind hearted person who can be…  _ passionate _ about his theories and ideas.”

“Are you trying to say something about me, Asgore?” Gaster asks, with a rather cheeky glint in his eyes.

“Not at all, Gaster. Shall we begin our discussion?” Asgore innocently asks, and I see the skeleton narrow his eyes in mock contempt before sauntering to where Asgore stood and begins delving into a complex explanation about energy and electricity to be put into the Core.

I casually tune out from the Science Station and take a glance at Asriel. He stares at me, with a knowing look and grin. We immediately huddle together and stroll through the blueprints laid sloppily on the table with other gizmos and gadgets.

“You know, Chara, I've never seen Dr. Gaster outside the lab in Hotland, ever.” Asriel whispers to me as he lightly pokes a test tube that had some funky purple gunk in it. “He's always cooped up in his lab all the time. I'm starting to think he's a vampire and not a skeleton.”

“Maybe he is. A spooky vampire who loves nerdy science.” I shrug and we both giggle.

“Right? But…” Asriel frowns in thought. “How does he get food if he's always inside all the time…?”

“Literal magic, Asriel. What, you forgot that you monsters can do magic?”

Asriel gives me a small shove and a “don't act so cheeky!” I retaliate with another shove of my own and we both dissolve into giggles.

“Children, please don't roughhouse around the chemicals! Some of them melt through skin.” Gaster calls and Asriel immediately flinches away from said chemicals.

“Gaster, I would like you to not traumatise my children.”

“It's just a fair warning, Mr. Dreemurr.”

“ _ Asgore. _ ”

“Right,  _ Asgore. _ Either way, continuing where we left off,” The skeleton clears his throat and adjusts his glasses. “The Core’s construction is to begin shortly and with it, it will bring a new era to monsters with the power that it will harness. There will be newer ways to create and manipulate puzzles, and lighting and heating will be ensured in all homes.”

“That sounds wonderful. You've really outdone yourself, Gaster.” Asgore applauds softly with a smile.

Gaster gives a curtsy, and even goes as far to lifting up the hems of his lab coat for an effect. I can see Asgore choking down a chuckle.

“Well, thank you once again, Gaster.” Asgore moves towards Asriel and I to leave together. “Your creation will definitely bring goodness to the people. We will leave you to your work now-”

“Wait.” The scientist interrupts, moving between the two Dreemurrs and I. He leans in closer to me, scrutinising my appearance. “Would you mind if I do some… examinations with Chara? It won’t take too long, so you can bide your time by looking further at the Core’s details-”

“Hang on, Gaster. What do you intend to do with my son?” Dad places a hand onto the rambling skeleton’s shoulder, a frown plastered on his face.

“Are… are you going to hurt Chara?” Asriel asks, his expression borderlining on mortified.

“Oh, absolutely not, child.” Gaster laughs, patting Asriel on the top of his head. “I’ll just be running a few physical tests on them and their soul. Nothing that will hurt them at all. Of course… if they’re okay with it.”

I hesitate.

“You don’t have to do it you don’t want to, Chara-” Asriel starts but he stops when I smile at him. I turn to face Gaster, who is waiting expectantly for an answer.

“Okay. I will do it. What do I have to do?” I cross my arms.

Gaster grins as he grabs a clipboard and a pen, which he clicks on.

“You just need to stand right here, with your arms by your sides, please.” He instructs and I slide my hands down to my sides, a little confused at his commands.

As he rounds me and scribbles notes onto his clipboard, other detached skeletal hands zoom in and I can't help but to stare at them in awe. That awe fades when they begin to prod and poke at my body almost painfully. One of them lifts up my hair for measuring purposes and the other pokes my side (which elicits a breathy giggle that I couldn't stop.) I let my hands go limp as two bony hands pick up an arm each and flop it down back to my hips. Gaster never stops writing, never once removes his gaze from his notes.

Eventually, after what feels like hours, the hands cease their movements and dissipate from sight. My vision is then filled with Gaster’s face, peering carefully at my face, clipboard and pen in one of the floating hands by him.

“Alright,” Gaster kneels to make himself more comfortable. “I'm going to be taking a look at your soul, and this will require me to temporarily remove it from your body. This may bring upon a bit of nausea, since I am doing this outside the battle system.”

I take a breath and shut my eyes as Gaster stretches a hand towards me. And in an instant, I feel a shiver go down my spine and my eyes snap right back open. Sure enough, there's my bright red soul humming quietly in the palm of Gaster’s hands, who looks… flabbergasted?

“How curious…” He takes back the board and pen from his hovering hand and quickly jots down something onto it.

“What is it?” I ask, breaking my stance and craning my neck to see the messy jumble of words scrawled on the piece of paper.

“See, the thing is, during the war, monsters would report back to me to tell me details and information of the humans so that we could be able to piece together anything that would've help us to fighting back against them. And I noticed that with each human fought, there was a different variety of soul colours that were limited to seven.” 

Gaster walks over to his desk and pulls out a sheaf of paper to examine it.

“There were different hues to the souls but the main seven were red, orange, yellow, green, light and dark blue, and purple. And I managed to deduce that those colours showed a dominant trait of the human. We don't have the full details at the moment but we do know certain soul colours. For example, an orange soul represents bravery while a purple signifies perseverance. There were quite a few oranges and purples and even several yellows, for justice.”

“So what does a red soul mean, Dr. Gaster? Or do you not know?” Asriel pipes up and Gaster gives him a long look, not of annoyance but of a discreet confusion.

“No, no, we had a scarce few reports on red souls. And those humans in particular, were the most dangerous ones on the battlefield.”

I inaudibly gulp.

“H-How so…?” I question and I curse the slight tremble of my voice.

“Red souls on the battlefield meant that they were an unstoppable force. They were a sign of pure _ determination. _ ” Gaster states, solemnly. “The redder the soul, the more determination they had. If you haven't read on the war with humans and monsters, you should know that no humans died during that. There were only hundreds of thousands of casualties from our side. And the reds were just an influencing factor to that.”

“While red souls are rare due to most human babies dying during childbirth due to the inability to handle the immense amounts of determination, when they pass that stage of vulnerability, they are essentially the most powerful humans against monster kind. When they have their mind set onto something, they will push through with all their might until they achieve it. It is something more than bravery, perseverance and justice put together. The reds only do so because they want to meet a goal for themselves. They do not do it for others like oranges or yellows and they have more willpower than purples. They are truly a soul colour on their own. And you, my child, have it.”

I remain quiet even as Gaster finishes writing his last word and tosses his writing tools on top of a stack of papers.

“Thank you for allowing me to add more information to my research on humans. It's deeply appreciated.” He smiles warmly at the three of us, not noticing the haunted expression on our faces. “I frequently send updates about the Core’s status, but until then, take care.”

I quickly exit the lab, ignoring Asriel’s calls for me.

I can't believe it. I'm part of a species and a soul group who had no problem in murdering countless of monsters. They didn't even stop to think whether these monsters had families and friends to go back to. To even think that monsters are just like  _ us humans. _ They just-  _ killed them all. _

I can't stop a hiccup and sob from falling from my lips and suddenly the dam breaks and tears are falling down my face. A hand presses against my shoulder and I flinch.

“Chara, are you okay-?”

“ _ Stay away from me! _ _”_ I push Asriel back roughly and he stumbles away, staring at me in shock. “ _ Why did your family take me in?! Why did you even decide to help me that day when I fell from that hole?! You should have just left me to die!” _

“Chara-”

“ _ I'm from a whole species that decided to kill and imprison your people! I'm from a soul colour who gladly  _ **_massacred_ ** _ their way through monsters that could've had families and children they had to leave behind!  _ So why did-” I let out a breathy shudder through my tears. “ _ Why did you even bother helping me if you knew that?” _

“Because you're nothing like them!” Asriel pushes forward and takes my hands into his. “You may be related to those humans who hurt us, but look at yourself! You've done nothing to hurt us. And you feel sorry for what happened between our people. To us. I know that from the two weeks you've stayed with us that you love and care for monsters. You love Mom. You love Dad. And you love me. So don't you think that separates you from them even though you're related to them?”

My lips wobble and my vision is blurry from the tears that steadily fall down my cheeks. I don’t trust myself to answer and I find myself not having to as a tall shadow looms over me and gently turns me around. It’s Asgore.

“Chara, the reason we took you in was not because we pitied you for being a human child.” He kneels down to eye level with me, a sad smile on his face. “No matter what species you come from, we would have taken you in either way because no child should not have a home to stay in. Human or monster, it does not matter. We love you either way, and I am sure you feel the same way. So do not ever think for one moment that we hate you for the bloodline and species you’re related to.”

I can’t stop the loud sobs from escaping my throat and Dad gingerly takes me into his arms. I bury my face and cry into the silk of his purple cape and he soothingly rubs my back. I feel Asriel move behind me and latch a hug onto me tightly.

“It is okay, child. We love you.” Dad presses his face on the top of my head and kisses it, even making a funny ‘mwah’ sound along with it.

“Yeah! And we’ll take care of you forever! So don’t be sad anymore, okay?” Asriel chirps up, with his usual positivity.

I can’t find any words so I just let out a watery laugh and hold my family even tighter, and think how lucky I am to find myself in not only a loving community, but an even more loving family than my previous family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry but I couldn't help but nerd out on the soul details. I've been hanging onto the whole red soul thing for some time in my imaginary story I've made in my brain, so I wanted to spew it out onto the story since it sorta fit. Hehe.


	4. Waterfall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chara and Asriel head to Waterfall to visit Napstablook (after discovering Gerson isn't there) but they encounter an angry fish monster. Chara befriends her and immediately tries to fight her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update! Been putting it off for some dumb reason and I finally got to updating it so I hope you enjoy the fourth chapter of this series! Enjoy Undyne and her fighting spirit. I've added her because I feel like she would be a good addition to Chara's and Asriel's adventures.

I yawn and stretch a little before kicking my legs out slightly, the soles of my feet brushing against the cool water of the river. I wriggle my toes, watching the ripples part and dissipate, and sigh.

“Are you bored, Azzy?” I ask, flopping onto the hard wood of the River Person’s boat with a thump.

A loud groan resounds from next to me.

“Chara, why couldn't we have just walked to Waterfall?” My brother whines, and from my peripheral vision, I can see his slightly greenish face.

“Because then you would complain about why we did not take the boat because it's so hot.” I reply nonchalantly, lazily shutting my eyelids.

“The heat is better than motion sickness.”

“Then tell me that the next time we decide to take a walk to any place before Hotland and to not ever complain about it.”

Asriel whimpers from the nausea and I flop a hand onto his stomach lightly and rub it consolingly. I have never thought that a monster could have something like motion sickness but lo and behold, Azzy is living proof of it. I quietly ponder how he has managed to even get from Hotland to Snowdin, since the ride to Waterfall from there takes about 30 minutes.

Eventually, the boat slides to a smooth stop near one of the more stable marshes of Waterfall. Asriel immediately scrambles out with a wild cheer of “finally!” and I cannot help but laugh at my poor brother. I slide off easily and the River Person bows their head.

“Come again sometime. Tra la la.”

“Thanks for the ride!” I call over my shoulder as I escort the still woozy Asriel out of the makeshift port.

The River Person makes no response, either not hearing my call or choosing to ignore it. I shrug and turn to Asriel, who, while still slightly out of it, is looking a lot less greener than before.

“Azzy, you good?” I ask, and Asriel sort of lets out a drunken giggle and gives a shaky thumbs up.

“Y-Yeah! C-Come on, let's go see Gerson!” He raises his fist to the sky like a superhero and dashes forward, straight into a wall. He bleats loudly on impact and falls flat onto the floor.

I try to hold back a laugh as I help him up. Slowly but surely, we both hobble away from the boat of River Person, and closer to what looks like a makeshift stand out of a hole in the wall. Asriel slides himself off my grasp (after he firmly tells me that, “yes, I'm definitely okay now”) to saunter up to the shop's counter. There's a chest right next to it.

“Hey, Azzy?” I call and he turns to look at me with a cock of his head. “You know how no matter which chest you go to, your items always appear in it instead of someone else's? Why is that?” I ask.

“Mom and Dad says it's something to do with the chest reading your fingerprints when you touch it. And since all the items you put in have your fingerprints on ‘em… the chest knows what to give to you?” Asriel shrugs, not knowing what else to say.

“Then what happens if somebody with gloves puts an item in a chest, no fingerprints. Then what?”

Azzy’s expression changes into something akin to confusion and near horror at the thought.

“... I'm not sure.” Asriel decides on his answer before rapping on the counter loudly and peeping in. “Mr. Gersoooon! Are you in here?

I strain my ears but hear no response. Asriel calls out again before deciding on standing on his tiptoes to peer deeper into the cave. He groans.

“He's not in hereee.” Asriel whines as he crosses his arms with a huff.

“Maybe he went for lunch?” I suggest and Azzy hums in thought.

“Maybe. Crabapples and sea tea can get a bit boring if you eat it every day forever…” Asriel pulls a sour face and screws up his eyes, probably imagining the taste of whatever the heck those were.

I nod in agreement, trying to imagine what a ‘Crabapple’ looks like before Asriel grasps my hand, jostling me out of my thoughts.

“Never mind. We can meet him some other time. Let’s go visit Napstablook instead! Their house is just one room over from here.” He tugs me and sprints down to the next room. I manage to not stumble and fall flat on my face.

“Who’s Napstablook?” I muster, while trying to keep up with Asriel’s speed.

“They're a ghost that lives around here! But I don't really see them that often since they're sorta… shy. Reaaally shy.” Asriel shoots me a strained smile.

“How shy are we talking, on a scale of 1 to 10?”

“... 12?”

“Huh.” I mutter and nearly get the air smacked out of me from my brother's sudden stop. “Azzy, I love you and all, but please warn me before you stop like that.”

“Sorry, Chara.” He laughs nervously before staring at the three entrances. “Um…”

“What is wrong? I thought you said Napstablook lives here.” I squint at the entryways before glancing at Azzy.

“I did! But… I don’t know which path it was. They told me they lived in Waterfall and they stayed here but well…” Asriel scratches behind his ears. “They disappeared before they told me which one it was.”

“Tough luck, buddy. Maybe next time you will meet someone and sweep them off their feet. But anyway,” I cut my brother short before he erupts in furious blushes and bad counter arguments. “What is keeping you from guessing which one it is then?”

“Th-That's the other problem.” Asriel fidgets with his hands. “There's this really, really, _really_ scary fish monster that also lives here and I've heard from Hotland that she terrorises monsters around here and I'm really scared we'll run into her-”

“Really, Azzy?” I laugh and pat his back. “Do not worry! Your good ol’ sibling will help protect you from this scary fish lady.” I begin to drag him to the first entrance. “Let us get going.”

“Chara, wait, please-!”

But I don't listen to his pleas as I march straight into the first passage. It leads to a rather quaint house in a shape of a fish. Even the door is modelled after sharp canines of some sort of fish.

“I-I don't think they live here, Chara.” Asriel wheezes out, looking as if he's about to faint from the tension.

“Maybe not.” I rub my chin but trudge forward anyway. “But maybe they do, so it would not hurt to try.” I raise a hand to knock the door.

“ _Chara, please-”_

I rap on the door, a hollow clunk echoing with each knock. I step back a little, waiting for a response.

…

…

… There's none.

I hear Asriel breathe out a sigh of relief. I turn around and shrug.

“Guess there is nobody home-”

I hear a swoosh behind me and a whistle of air as I watch a brightly glowing teal spear zoom past me, cutting a lock of hair off. I flinch and Asriel steps back in fear. Before I can even make a move to turn behind me, somebody dashes forward, letting out a battle yell as they slam into me and shove me into the ground.

I roll and roll, dirt blending into the wool of my sweater before my back smacks against the ground, and I stare up at a rather pissed off fish monster, baring her teeth and narrowing her eyes. Her red hair flutters in the wind as she nearly jams the point of the spear into my throat. I hold my breath.

So this was the angry fish lady.

“ _Finally!”_  She screeches, her lips curling into a sinister grin as she presses her weapon closer towards my possible death. “I can prove to everyone that I can do something worthwhile, and that's with _your soul_ -”

Just as I'm about to start asking Asriel for a bit of help, a small fireball strikes her in the face, causing her to sputter out the ash from her mouth and curl backwards from the pain. I hear fast footsteps and feel hands gripping my arms to pull me onto my feet.

“Stay away from Chara!” My brother shouts, standing tall in front of me, his hands curled into fists that were trembling slightly (from fear or anger, I don't know.)

Fish girl gets up and shoots a piercing scowl at the two of us.

“You… you're Prince Dreemurr.” She points a newly formed (and warping) spear towards him before aggressively shifting her weapon to me. “You of all people should know that this _human_ ,” She snarls at me, and it feels like she's about to fling the spear into my face. “Is the key to our freedom! They need to _die!”_

“Chara is my _friend_ and a part of the Royal Family! You're not going to _kill_ them!” Asriel counters, almost as fiercely as she does.

Her expression slackens.

“Part of the…?” Her voice trails off, barely audible before her expression tightens into suspicion. “ How can I be sure that you aren't lying? Just because you're the prince doesn't mean I immediately trust you.”

“There was a whole speech my dad gave at New Home months ago! He even introduced Chara to the other monsters!”

“Well, I wasn't there, so unless you have someone who _was_ there-”

“A-Actually… I-I was there…” A somber, morose voice cuts through the tension and a ghost fades into sight, pale white.

“You were there, Napstablook?” The fish lady questions the spirit and they nod slightly.

“Y-Yeah… it was really crowded and p-people kept passing through me but I saw the King br-bring up the human a-and introduced them to a-all of us…” They state, a (sad?) smile growing on their face.“Everybody was cheering and clapping and… oh…” Napstablook stops themselves, a frown appearing. “I'm sorry… I went rambling again…”

She stares at the ghost for a while before turning back to us, a scowl forming on her face.

“Fine.” Her spear fades off into the breeze as she lets it drop from her grasp. She crosses her arms. “Sorry for trying to kill you and stuff.” She huffs, turning away.

“It is… fine.” I move forward next to Asriel, who shifts his weight from side to side awkwardly. “I assume you are Undyne?”

Undyne gives a sharp toothed grin that stretches from ear to ear.

“Darn right!” She pounds her chest hard. “I’m gonna be the best warrior that the Underground has ever seen! I just need to get really, really good in summoning my spears and sparring and kicking and I’ll be awesome!”

I hum in thought. Asriel shoots me a mix of a horrified and a stern look that reads ‘don’t you dare.’ I smile at him before facing Undyne.

“Well, do you wish to spar with me, then?” I suggest, and I can hear Asriel let out an exasperated sigh as he turns away.

Undyne’s eyes light up like a Christmas tree at the idea.

“Are you kidding me?! A battle with a human?!” She near squeals as she throws her hands up in glee. “No way I’m turning this down!”

“Great.” I subtly assume my battle stance. “I am ready when you are.” I announce and as I finish my sentence, I see Undyne press forward with a wild laugh and the world turns black and white.

With a teal spear in hand, she waves it towards me, nearly slicing my sweater and soul. I stumble backwards. It isn't her turn so why-

My soul turns into a shade of green and my stumbling halts immediately. I attempt to move to circle around Undyne but I can't move my legs. Undyne is grinning mischievously and tosses her spear to me. I catch it, and its warmth radiates in my hands. I stare up at her, incredulous.

“Your soul’s green now. You can’t escape from this battle no matter what!” She summons another spear and brandishes it dangerously. “So unless you face danger head on, you won’t survive.”

I firmly grasp the spear in my hand and wield it gingerly.

“Fine.”  
  
I push myself forward with my feet and the weight of the spear (it seems like I can only move when attacking,) and take a swing at her. Undyne dodges with a roll and shoots a barrage of spears my way, splitting into different pathways of front, back and my sides. Instinctively, I barely manage to bat them away with the weapon in my hand, and the opposing spears shatter like glass against the projected shield from the spear. One slips past my defenses and cuts the side of my soul. I wince at the sharp pain that hits my chest.

“Not bad, human! But you’ll have to do better if you want to beat me!” She beats her chest and I take the opportunity to attack her by nicking her cheek. She startles.

“Unlike other humans, I have had my fair share of monster training down here. Four months of it.” I twirl the spear.

Her grin widens.

“Well, then this’ll be fun for the both of us.”

The battle continues on. It is almost a pattern now; I attack and she mostly dodges. She attacks and I mostly get hit. Fortunately, I have a stockpile of monster food (excellent for healing, not for satiating hunger, however) that I occasionally pick out during the battle to shove down my throat. There are instances where she changes my soul colour back to red, and slams a bigger set of spears down on me, but I have begun to expect it instead of taking six spears into my back and chest.

Eventually, we have both come to the near end. I’m nearly out of monster food, save for a monster candy I received from Mom, and Undyne looks winded, despite not being as battered as I am.

“Give… up!” She breathes out heavily, as she sends another group of spears my way, albeit much slower and flimsier than before.

I stumble to the left out of one of the spears and watch the rest of the spears putter by me. I trudge forward, feet heavy.

“Not… before I… win!” I throw a punch her way and it connects, much to the surprise of both of us.

Undyne falls hard on the ground and I eventually trip and fall beside her. The battlefield fades away into the white noise of Waterfall’s ambience and the dull glow of the glittering stones stuck to the ceiling. Asriel and Napstablook stares at the two of us panting heavily, making absolutely no move to help us up. They share a look between each other and they start when Undyne begins laughing out loud.

“Boy...!” She snorts and giggles as she rubs the sore spot on her cheek. “That was one of… _the_ best fights I’ve ever been in. And I lost too! To a human!”

Undyne continues laughing and I eventually join in, just as giggly as her.

“I cannot believe I managed to even win a battle, to be frank.” I sigh as I slowly push myself onto my feet with a grunt. I turn around and offer her a hand up. “And the name is Chara.”

She stares at my outstretched hand and smiles, grabbing it firmly. I pull her up.

“Well then, Chara, that was a pretty good battle.” She begins shaking my hand, a little rough and tough with it. “But I bet that was just luck! I want a rematch!”

“Right now…?” I ask, cricking my neck to sort the tension out of it.

“Yeah!”

_Ring._

The two of us turn to Asriel, who hastily pats down his pants and pulls out the ringing cellphone. He answers it.

“H-Hello…? Oh! Hi, Mom!” Azzy chirps with a smile that evolves into a shocked and horror filled expression. “O-Oh. O-Okay! We’ll be home soon!” He ends the call and turns to me. “Chara, we need to get home quick. Something happened to Dad and Mom wants us home right now.”

“Oh.” My expression falls and horrible thoughts of what happened to Dad fills me dread. “L-Let’s go then.”

I turn to Undyne, who looks a bit disappointed by the scenario that’s arisen.

“Hey. We will do the rematch thing some other time, okay? Maybe when I get back here, so you better be ready for it, or I might beat you again.” I point finger guns at Undyne as Asriel and I begins to walk away.

The passion in her eyes flares up again and she points at me with mock aggression.

“Just you watch! I’ll train so hard that the next time I see you, I’ll beat you to the ground!” She smashes her fist into her palm. “Till then, Chara! Mark my words!”

“Will do! And Napstablook, we will hang out with you some other time too, okay?” I shout to the ghost who looks surprised at being introduced into the end of the conversation.

Their shocked expression evolves into a smile.

“Yeah… see you soon…”

I wave goodbye to two new friends from Waterfall, before I catch up in pace with Asriel, trying to not think of the worst case scenarios of what happened to Dad on the way back home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're wondering what happens to Asgore at the end, I've made the assumption that Chara and Asriel made the butter(cup)scotch pie when Asgore and Toriel wasn't around and went off to explore Waterfall. Asgore took a slice and well, you know the rest.


	5. Snowdin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asriel and Chara take a walk through Snowdin and talk about things. Things to do with their life, their friendship and the lives of all monster kind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas! If it is still Christmas by the time I get this up. It might not be in my area. But anyway! Here's the fifth part of this story! The next chapter may or may not be the last part, depending on whether I want to add the Surface as a small chapter. But either way, I hope you're enjoying the story!

”Snowdin’s really pretty, isn't it Chara?”

I blink, looking up from rubbing my gloved hands together for heat. Asriel stares at me, his eyes peeking out from the scarf wrapped snug around his neck. Despite being covered head to toe in fur, Toriel had insisted on Azzy wearing it. He did, though, rather reluctantly. The reluctance isn't on his face anymore, replaced with expectation for a response.

“I… I guess so.” I shrug, taking a look around. “It is pretty cozy.”

And it is. From the moment we stepped through from Waterfall (we only went half way through River Person’s boat else Azzy would puke,) the chilly breeze hit us with the delightful sight of fluffy snow. The snowflakes fell daintily from the sky onto the rows of pine trees that lead up to the warm and friendly town known as Snowdin.

The tiny town provided with several things. One of which was the inn, which looked absolutely _comfortable_ . However, in the flipside it's absolutely _expensive_ , so we had to resist the urge against resting there. There was the library, whose sign was spelt wrongly (the librarian seemed exasperated and defeated over this fact,) filled with wonderful knowledge. I would take my time there but Asriel tugged me away before I could do so.

There were only two places for food, though. One was the little convenience store that provided cinnabunnies and a few battle related equipment. The shopkeeper was the sister of the monster who ran the inn, so I guess they went hand in hand; food provided just by the inn. The other place that supplied warm meals was a pub called Grillby’s. The place provided a decent meal at the price of about 20 to 50 gold and the owner of the place was a fire monster, who had named the place after himself. He does not talk very much but his food is pretty damn good.

We've been here several times but I never fail to see Asriel awe over the place each time we come to visit.

“What do you want to do first, Chara?” Azzy asks me, and I hum in thought.

“I am not sure, actually.” I admit, and gaze around the town. “Maybe we should walk and figure it out as we do so?”

“Sure!” And he wraps my hand in mine and we walk our merry way around the town.

Near the centre of the town, I do a double take as I spy a Christmas tree with presents underneath it. Asriel notices my staring.

“What's wrong, Chara?”

“Nothing, it is just-” I gesture to the decorated tree, alit with a light show of colours and tinsel. “I did not know that monsters celebrate Christmas down here.”

“Christmas?” He echoes, frowning. “What's that?”

I stare at him, speechless. He stares back, his confusion growing even further.

“It's… a tradition that we do in the Surface.” I rub the back of my head, trying to come up with an easier way to say it. “There is a lot of religious history behind it but to kids, it is mostly just about receiving and giving presents. Like how you get gifts for your birthday from Mom and Dad but it is mutual, instead.” I shrug.

“What's… religious?” Azzy asks, with a tilt of his head.

“Uh.” I furrow my eyebrows. “It is beliefs that people believe in. Different religions have different people that essentially have different beliefs.”

“Like how some people believe in aliens and some people don't?” Asriel chimes and I rub my neck.

“Something like that. It is… complicated. Anyway!” I clap my hands and point to the tree. “Then if this isn't Christmas, why is there presents under the tree?”

“Oh!” Asriel brightens up. “It's called Gyftmas! It started from when kids decorated this monster, Gyftrot for fun. The adults pitied them and decided to put presents under the tree so they would feel better. Then we sorta got into it. And there's this monster that comes around giving presents to everyone!”

“What is their name?”

“Santa Claus!”

I blink. What an… _odd_ coincidence. I don't know how to feel about it. Asriel keeps going about how Dad told him about the whole thing and the realisation dawns upon me. Ah, Dad probably knew about the tradition on the Surface from the… war…

I brush that thought aside and tune in to the conversation again.

“-So yeah! That's how the tradition came about.” Asriel claps his hands together as he finishes. “Is Gyftmas almost the same as Christmas?”

“I would say about 90 percent is exactly like Christmas.”

“Neat! When we get out of the Underground, can you show me everything about it?”

“... Sure.” I smile, but the gesture feels… somber. If Asriel noticed, he doesn't say anything, instead grabbing my hand again and dragging me outside of town, where “it's way, way more fun and cool!”

Out of town, it is mostly just snow and trees and ice. There are some monsters strayed on our path (like Ice Caps that wouldn't stop flaunting their intricately crafted hats and Snowdrake with his terrible puns,) but they did not bother us that much. We continue trekking through the snowy land and eventually end up at the door of the Ruins. Asriel slumps against the hard door and sits in the snow, back against it. I join him, brushing a bit of snow away before sliding up next to him.

“It’s nice to be out alone sometimes, y’know?” Asriel breaks the silence and stretches his limbs. “I mean, it’s nice being with Mom and Dad but…” He turns to me with a smile. “It’s also nice being alone with you, Chara.”

I blush and turn away. He laughs at my expression and immediately yelps at the cold snow I stuff down his sweater. I laugh at his whining at his struggles to get it out of his clothes.

“Chara, that was meaaan!” He wails, and brushes the rest of the snow off of his fur and sweater.

“You were laughing at my embarrassment, you nerd.” I nudge him lightly in the side that ends up with him bursting into giggles. I end up joining into the fit of laughter with him.

Our laughter eventually dissipates into fragments of chuckles that hang on to extend the laughing spree. Asriel breathes out a sigh, a mist of icy breath leaving his mouth.

“Hey, Chara?” I turn to look at him and Azzy has an almost sad look on his face. “Will this plan… really work?”

“Of course, it will.” I say, frowning. “Do you doubt it?”

“No!” He immediately interjects and casts his eyes to the snow beneath his feet. “It’s just… you’ll be the one that’s sacrificing the most for this and I…”

He starts to tear up.

“No, Azzy, do not cry-” I take his face in my hands and swipe away at the tears that fall down his face. “This plan will be for the good for not only Mom and Dad, but for all of monster kind. Think about it, Azzy. We will be able to free everyone and they will be able to have a good life in the Surface, just like they always wanted.”

“B-But… you’ll…” He trails off, not wanting to finish his sentence as he curls further into himself. My chest tightens.

“I know.” I hug him. “But I will be with you, even if it does not looks like it. And when we are done, we will be heroes and we will all be free, once and for all. It will work; I have read up on it. Only six, remember?” I reassure him (or am I reassuring myself?) Asriel shoots a weak smile.

“Only six.” He turns and reaches into his pocket, a jangling noise erupting from within. I crane my neck to see what he pulls out and my eyes widen and the two gold lockets that gently clink against each other, dangling from his fingers. “I… I know that the plan’s going to happen soon and Gyftmas is coming too so…” Asriel holds out one of the lockets in front of me. “I got these. To remind us of our friendship and how we’ll get through this plan.”

I gingerly take the locket and inspect it. It is in the shape of a heart and shines as the light bounces off its cold surface. The carving on the cover says, ‘Best Friends Forever.’ I feel my heart lurch as I wear it around my neck. I feel my heart beat against the locket resting near it.

“Do… do you like it?” Asriel asks, his own locket around his neck. We match.

I grip my locket tightly in my hands and ignore the tears pricking at the edges of my eyes.

“I love it.” My voice wobbles a bit but Asriel doesn’t mind as he laughs and embraces me into a hug. I feel his tears soaking into my sweater.

It almost makes me not want to go with my plan. I say almost, because while I treasure my brother… our plan is going to mean a whole lot more to monster kind.


	6. The Surface

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chara and Asriel exit the Underground to gather six souls. It's time to free the Underground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's nearly 2am and I have Japanese classes tomorrow at 10am but fuck it, let's write. You're only dedicatd to uploading when you sort through the html on your goddamn phone to put on the italics and bolds. God damn it.
> 
> Here's the Surface; the part I eventually decided to write. The next one is going to be the last. ... Maybe.
> 
> Hope you enjoy this new chapter!

It takes some getting used to, but eventually, despite the split control over our (Asriel’s) body, we managed to stumble our way to through the Barrier. Unlike all the times that it pushed back and pulsed against my hands when I brushed over it back then, it showed no resistance when we walked right past it. Asriel turns our head back to stare at the Barrier. To what we are leaving behind. Our home.

The reflection of our body can be barely seen by the translucent sheen of the Barrier; standing as tall as Asgore, with horns and markings that curled on our cheeks. The expression reflected back to us is a sombre look.

 _"Asriel, I know it is going to be hard, but all we need is six souls, and we will come back and see Mom and Dad again.”_ I tell him, and he nods our head.

“Yeah, I know but…” He stares down at my corpse, laid peacefully with its eyes closed in our hands. 

 _"I know. But we have to do this. We need to do this.”_ I emphasise, and he sighs.

“Just six.” Asriel repeats our task and takes the first step forward out of the exit, and into the light of day. 

I squint our eyes at the sunrays of the sunrise and look away from the direct beams of the Sun. It has been such a long time since I have seen the Sun, let alone a sunrise, with its blend of orange, yellow and red. I have almost forgotten how beautiful it could be.

“Wow…” Asriel breathes out, taking it all in. “This is what it looks like on the Surface? It’s so… pretty.” He utters in awe, and I feel a happy warmth at his childish wonder. 

 _"If I remember correctly, the sunrise happens every morning. People who wake up early enough can enjoy it.”_ I comment happily, but snap out of it. _“Come on. We can soak it in later when monster kind is all free.”_

Asriel eventually pulls us away from the sight of the morning sun.

“Alright. Where to?” He asks, looking over the sunrise to the grassy horizon and shifts the corpse in our hands.

_“Go down this path. You should end up at a crossroad. Take the left path, and it should lead us to a village.”_

“Got it.” Asriel begins walking down the dusty path, the gravel crunching against our feet.

The journey is mostly silent, with exceptions to the insects chirping in the grass and the sound of our footsteps to our destination. The two of us are both quiet. I cannot help but stare down at the body in our hands during that. Asriel notices and shifts slightly.

“How… how did you know where this village was, Chara?” Asriel quietly asks, and I hesitate for a moment.

_“I… I came from this village. The reason why I even remember is because I always came up to Mount. Ebott.”_

“W… Why did you do that? You've heard the rumour, right?” Our eyebrows furrow and our head bows in Asriel’s confusion. “People who fall down, they don't ever return.” He looks up. “And it's right. People who fall down there have died. Except-” He stops himself short.

 _“... Listen, Asriel.”_ I force the words out. _"I did not just hate humans for what they did to the monsters. I… they hurt me. They hated and despised me and I just wanted a way out.”_

“Chara-” Asriel tries to start but I interrupt him.

_“Let us just keep moving, okay? The village is getting just within our reach.”_

I can feel Asriel’s sympathy radiate off of us but he says nothing and trudges on.

The village climbs the horizon and approaches us as we headed onwards. I can barely remember the whole place, but I think it looks almost the same as how you left it. Somehow, that makes a heavy feeling crawl inside of me… that nobody cared about my absence. _Nobody._

“Chara…?” Asriel voices out, stepping into the village and scouting the area out. “I don’t see any humans here…”

_"They may not be awake just yet. I am not sure what time it is right now, but they might be up soon. Head to the centre of the village. There might be people there.”_

“Roger.” He moves towards said location. “Is that where humans gather the most?”

_"Kind of? In my village, the leader normally makes their announcements and speeches there. So it is our best chance in finding humans.”_

“I see.” Asriel mutters as he surveys the centre of the village, barren. “There isn’t anybody here. But…” He casts our eyes upon the bed of golden flowers settled in the middle of the village. Asriel is silent.

I take the initiative, moving ourselves forward and kneeling down, resting my corpse down onto the flowers. Its eyes are shut, and there’s still faint bloodstains that remain at the edges of its lips. If I did not know what had happened and was in another body, I might have mistaken it to be peacefully asleep.

I let out a sigh and just as I push myself onto our feet, I hear a scream from behind us. I quickly turn, and with our eyes, we catch sight of a woman pointing right at us, shrieking her head off.

“ _A monster! A monster has killed a child!”_ She yells, her expression frightened and horrified.

“No, that's not it-!” Asriel tries to reason, but the woman continues to scream and men with an assortment of weapons begin to run in.

“You _monster!”_ One of the men shouts and thrusts a spear that we barely dodge. “You killed a child! A child from _our_ village! You will pay for your crimes!”

“Wait, please! I didn't hurt Ch-” Asriel hisses at the arrow that embeds itself in our abdomen. 

The rage that has been bubbling in me boils and spills over. These people, who hated me and hurt me, now said that they would _avenge_ me? _After everything they did?_

I let out a snarl from our mouth and cast a fireball in one of the archers’ way. However, Asriel quickly deflects the attack by flicking our arm away from the target, missing them by miles.

“ **What are you doing?!** ” I scream, out loud, trying to wrench control back in our body. “We just need six souls! They are attacking us and now is the time to strike!”

We groan at the rocks thrown our way, battering against our body and face. 

“No! This is wrong! They're misunderstanding the situation! We didn't kill your people!” Asriel cries, but his pleas go unheard as the villagers crowd in on us, with their weapons raised high.

“They **hurt me,** Asriel! **They think they are delivering justice, but they are _fools!_ Let us use our full power, and _kill them!_** ” I attempt to charge up the power that we harnessed together but a resistance tugs me back. _Asriel._

“ _We can't! **I** can't!_ ” He wails over the noise and the hits we sustained from the maces and clubs. “We can solve this peacefully, please, stop _fighting-!_ ”

We scream in pain as a sword cuts a big wound on our chest. I can feel our body starting to fade.

“ **_Asriel! We will die if we do not fight back! We need to kill them or they will kill us! Do you want Mom and Dad to be trapped down there forever?!_** ” I shriek and yell, desperately trying to get him to understand. The plan was going to fail and we were going to die, _no, no, I don't **want** to **die-** _

I feel Asriel surge upwards against the battering hits, against the calamity. I can feel my heart swell; this is _it_ , our freedom, my _vengeance-_

Instead of fighting back with our full blown power, Asriel scoops up my dead corpse in his hands and runs far away. Away from the humans. Away from our _freedom._

_"Asriel, stop! What are you doing?!”_

“I'm sorry,” He whispers, trying to keep his body from fading as he runs away with my body clutched tightly in his hands. “We can't kill them. They have families too.”

 _"Asriel, you idiot!”_ I cannot stop myself from shouting in rage. _"We could have been freed! Freedom was so close and you turned tail and ran!”_

Asriel ignores my angered screams and races back. All the way back to the mountain. Throught the Barrier, and back into this god forsaken prison. His breaths become heavy and his footsteps like lead. He barely enters the throne room before he collapses.

 _“Get up! We need to get back there and finish the job!”_ I demand viciously but even with my control over the body, it's impossible to get up.

“I'm… s-sorr… ry.” He rasps out and I can hear the footsteps come into the room.

“ _Asriel!_ ” Mom’s voice echoes through the room as she rushes to our side. I can see the tears already brimming and falling from her eyes. “Oh, my child, my poor child…”

“M-Mom…” Asriel whimpers out as he attempts to grasp for Mom’s hand, which quickly wraps around our own.

“By the Gods…” I hear Dad’s voice rumble as he walks slowly towards us, his face unreadable. “What happened to you…?”

“H-Humans…” Asriel chokes out and suddenly, I feel a light headed feeling. One of our hands has already faded into dust and it was spreading to the rest of our body.

“No, no, please, stay with us! We cannot lose you too, Asriel!” Mom begs, but it does not stop the lower half of our body from turning into dust.

“I… I'm…” Asriel does not get much out before his soul begins to crack. Everything becomes murky, almost as if we were enveloped in water.

 _“Asriel, please, we can't die! Not now!"_ I beg him, because I realised that despite my very first intentions on suicide when I first fell here, that I didn't want to die at all. Not now. Not _here._  

“Chara… _I'm sorry._ ”

And I feel everything fade away at once; Mom and Dad’s voices, the ground, Asriel’s presence and I don't want to


	7. The Ruins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chara wakes up. They're in the Ruins again and someone's with them. But it's not Asriel.

When I wake up, I find myself lying flat in a bed of golden flowers. I jolt up, surveying my surroundings. Asriel and I, we were going to get the souls and free the monsters! What happened-?

Asriel. He stopped me. He ran.

He killed us both.

I narrow my eyes at the memory. We were so close. If Asriel had not fought against me and cooperated, none of this would have happened-!

I look around. Asriel is not here. Did he run- no, he couldn't have. We were stuck in his body together, and died in the throne room with Mom and Dad watching. I ignore the way my heart clenches at that and stare down at my hands. They are unbruised; no poison marks of the buttercups I ate seemed to show.

So… why am I still here if I died? There was no way we could have survived that; we had sustained too many hits and wounds from the humans, and we were already turning to dust before Mom and Dad could even snap out of their horror to call a medic. This could not be an induced coma from the buttercups, right? No, I do not think they had hallucinogens in them; it was just meant to hurt and kill you with continuous consumption.

So, why?

I hear a rustle from the flowers I am sitting on and I simultaneously flinch and turn towards the sound. Was it a monster discovering me-? I catch eyes on a blue and purple sweater donned on a dark skinned person with hair as long as mine, only fluffier.

I scowl. It is a human.

It stares at me, and cocks its head with a questioning air to it. I roll my eyes.

“What? Never seen another person before?” I stand up as tall as I can and fold my arms against my chest, trying to radiate disgust and confidence. “What are you looking at?”

“... You?” Its voice comes soft and naive, with a shrug of its shoulders. “I didn’t see you fall down here with me. Do you stay here?”

“What do you think?”

“... Maybe?” It shrugs again.

I sigh, uncrossing my arms. The charade is not working. I step into the bed of flowers (they step back as I do so,) and stare upwards to where the light falls through from the hole of Mt. Ebott. It is still a long fall as it was before. I wonder how I survived the fall. I wonder how  _ they _ survived the fall on a terrible cushion of golden flowers.

“So, you fell down here, obviously.” I speak, after stepping away from the hole and the human. “Did you trip and fall? Someone pushed you in?”

They stay quiet. The urge to push the answer out of them is immense, but… I could relate to the feeling. I decide not to continue down that path and start another conversation.

“Well, you cannot stay here, clearly.” I roll my eyes and turn my back on them to head to the exit I've known for all my life Underground. “I know the pathways of this place. So it is up to you for you to follow me or stay here and miraculously find an exit.” I do not wait and begin to walk away.

Without any hesitation, I hear the pitter patter of footsteps trailing behind me. I sigh, and look back at the human, who quietly walks behind me and tugs at their sweater sleeves.

I had thought the walk through the Ruins would be swift and without any obstacles, save for possible monsters, but before the human and I could even reach, a flower with a cheery face had blocked the way.

It may be some time after I died but I certainly do not remember a flower monster in the Underground.

“Howdy!” They say in an obnoxiously peppy voice, bouncing their head from side to side. “I'm Flowey! Flowey the Flower!”

“What a terrible name…” I mutter, and the human sort of hides a weird breathy laugh. It is almost as if Dad had given the name to this monster. If he did, I wonder why in the name of the Underground, that they had willingly taken his suggestion.

“Hm… you're new to the Underground, aren't cha?” They chirp brightly, ignoring my presence. I try not to think too much about that as I watch the human nod. “Golly, you must be so confused!”

“Kind of?” The human shrugs for the third time since I've met them.

“Well, someone ought to teach you how things work around here! I guess lil’ ol’ me will have to do!” They stick out their tongue playfully, and I cannot help the growing suspicion for this flower monster. “Ready? Here we go!”

I feel the shift of atmosphere as the world turns the monotone colours that can be seen when battling. So this is how it feels to be a spectator of a battle in battle mode. The human seems taken aback but doesn't show any fear to it, instead curiosity to the red soul (their soul was the exact red as  _ mine- _ ) floating in front of them. I am starting to feel uneasy as the flower scoots as close as they can to the human.

“See that heart? That's your Soul, the very culmination of your being!” They bounce up and down on their stem. “Your Soul starts off weak, but can grow strong if you gain a lot of LV!” I startle at the word, LV.  _ Level of Violence. _ “What does LV stand for? Why, LOVE, of course!”

This does not feel right anymore.

“You want some LOVE too, don't cha? Don't worry, I'll share some with ya!” The flower smiles again, and several bullets begin to form behind it.

I put a hand on the human. They jolt and turn to look at me.

“He is lying. LOVE down here means something else- something  _ bad. _ ” I quickly explain, as the flower goes on another rant, possibly getting ready to attack. “Avoid the bullets, they  _ will _ hurt you.”

The human offers no response, only a blank slate I cannot read as they face the flower once more.

“Are you ready? Move around, get as many as you can!” It squeaks, and the pellets begin to zoom forth towards the human.

Surprisingly, the human follows my advice and steps out of the way. I can see the flower’s charade beginning to crack, morphing into a tense smile.

“Heeeey, buddy, ya missed them. Let's try this again, okay?” It forces out a better but fake smile along with several other bullets.

The human dodges them with ease, watching them whizz by. The flower’s face immediately changes into that of disbelief and anger.

“Is this a joke?” I can hear the mock laughter in jts voice. “Are you _braindead?_ _Run. Into. The_ _BULLETS_ _._ Friendliness pellets.” I hear him correct himself, trying hard to keep a steady face.

Still, the human refuses. I chortle at the deadpan look on the human’s face as they stare at the flower, but my laughter abides as I notice the most sinister look on its face.

“ _ You know what's going on here, don't you?”  _ It whispers with a grim smile and hollow eyes. “ _ You just wanted to see me  _ **_suffer._ ** _ ” _

A ring of bullets instantaneously form around the human, who gasps. Oh no.

“ **_Die._ ** ” The flower cackles loudly as the ring of death begins to close in around them.

“Sh- I-” I stutter, not knowing what to do, as the human does their best to stay as far away from the bullets closing in. “Try to-”

I do not manage to finish my sentence as a ring of fireballs counters the bullets and stops the potential death of the human. The flower glares at us,  perplexed before being knocked away by a stray fireball to its shocked face. The colours of the world begin leaking back in again, as a monster approaches us-

_ Mom. _

“ _ MOM!” _ I shout, unable to help myself as I step forth right in front of her.

She looks and walks right past me, towards the human that I had been guiding. I freeze.

“What a terrible creature… hurting such a poor innocent youth.” Mom mutters as she kneels down to the human’s eye level. “Do not be afraid, my child. I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins.”

The  _ Ruins _ ? But… they had abandoned the Ruins even before I had came about here, right? Asriel said it himself when we first met; Home was abandoned when they headed for New Home so why is Mom here? Where is Dad…?

I do not notice Mom walking away from us, but the human grabs my attention. Their expression is something… sad. Sympathy? Pity? I scowl at them.

“W-What? I just spaced out, let us just go-”

The human gives me a sad smile before trotting along to follow Mom. I still do not know what is going on.

Mom guides them through puzzles, but I notice that she is not even letting them try it out themselves, rather, teaching it to them like one would do with a toddler. I frown. Even if Mom was ginger about the puzzles down here, she never took me by the hand and guided me through it.

We eventually reach a room with a Dummy in it. I shoot a curious stare at it. Five minutes in and Mom is already training the human for battle? Why?

“As a human living in the Underground, monsters may attack you.” Mom explains, and I immediately backtrack onto the comment.

“What? No, they do  _ not _ , they ask before the battle-” I mutter to myself, and I cannot tell from the human’s face if they're listening to me or Mom.

“-in a fight, strike a friendly conversation! Stall for time.” Her smile is warm but has a discreet etch of melancholy in it. “I will come resolve the conflict. Practice talking to the dummy.”

Mom steps aside and the human steps in front of the dummy and initiates battle mode. I barely notice the flicker to the darker tones, still fumbling through my thoughts because there was no way in Hell, that monsters attacked out of nowhere, I do not remember any of that-

The human is staring at me. I glare at them and then at the Dummy, who stares at us blankly. I can feel the expectant manner of the ghost inhibiting it, and I shoot a look at the human, still seemingly unaffected by my glaring.

“Well? Are you going to do something?” I fold my arms and kick my feet against the void of the battle floor.

The human turns and begins making quiet idle talk to the dummy, something like “how are you doing today, Mr. Dummy?” The Dummy, of course, doesn't respond, but Mom seems to be pleased, as she claps her hands (in the unique emergency way of ending battle) and the battle scene fades.

“Ah, very good! You are very good!” Mom chirps, before exiting the room.

I stare between the Dummy and the exit Mom left through, and quietly wonder, with a horrible feeling buried deep in my chest, what happened while I was gone.

The human pretends to idle around, observing the room and does not comment when I shake myself out of the stupor I am in to continue on.

* * *

 

The next few rooms follow in a similar caliber; Mom introduces a puzzle and proceeds to guide the human throughout the whole puzzle. A monster, a Froggit, specifically, had hopped its way onto the human’s path, and before the human could even move a muscle, Mom swooped in and shot that poor Froggit the meanest glare she could muster before it hopped fearfully away. My confusion grows; why would they be afraid of Mom? Yeah, she is the Queen of the Underground, but she has been nothing but  _ nice _ and  _ warm _ and  _ motherly- _

I catch the human staring at me again and I hiss at them. They calmly look away.

At one point, Mom leads us to the long hallway of the Ruins (ridiculously long; why was it even built like this?) She mumbles something about walking to the end of the room by themselves before dashing down the corridor. I blink and the human and I look at each other in perplexity before trailing after her, slowly. Mom’s running away did not do much, especially since she hid behind the lone pillar that sat at the end of the room, and the human just stared at the pillar until she decided to slink out from behind it.

She says a few words about testing the human’s independence (and I squint at her; what was there to be afraid of down here?) and entrusts them with an old handphone,  _ my handphone. _ She leaves after mentioning she has some “business to attend to” and to “be good.” Her footsteps fade off, leaving us in silence.

“... That lady’s your mom?” They ask, staring at me with soft brown eyes.

It takes some time to figure out a response between absolute silence or a piercing glare. I decide on answering.

“Yes.”

“... But she didn’t see you.”

“I know!” I snap, and wring my hands. “And I do not know why- she would not just ignore me like that, she could not have just  _ forgotten _ me after I di-”

I stop short and flinch involuntarily. I look away from the human, who says nothing at all. I curl in on myself. Why does she ignore me? Why am I still here if I died? Where is Dad? Asriel? I miss them, I  _ miss them so much, where are  _ **_they_ ** _ - _

The human gently tugs at my sweater and I snap my head towards them. They are not making eye contact.

I let out a shaky sigh.

“... Sorry. Let us continue.”

The human nods, and we trudge forward into the unknown.

* * *

 

This was not her. This was not the mother who kindly took me in when I stepped into her home, who was patient with me through my mistakes, who taught me very gingerly about battling monsters in the Underground.

No. This was another monster, blocking the way out, her expression stoic and unrelenting as she tosses searing fireballs our way.

Toriel’s eyes are void of the warmth I once knew before.

It all happened so quickly.

The second the two of us had stepped into the next room, monsters began initiating attacks, without hesitation. Fortunately, the human seems apt in their agility and dodging, missing most hits. It still boggled me, even with hints from Toriel before.

_ I remembered the days where monsters would approach and ask for consent before beginning the duel. _

After arriving to Home, without much injuries, Toriel had beckoned the human into her home, which wasn't here before. What used to be just a winding slope downwards out the Ruins was now a fully furnished home, fitted with rooms and even a kitchen. I cannot help but notice the resemblance between this home and our Home. But… it did not feel like home. Even with the warm pie left in the small (replicate) room that the human slept in.

_ I remembered the days we would gather by the fire and eat butterscotch cinnamon pie and laugh about the simple joys of the Underground. _

They had asked how to leave. Toriel left down the stairs. We followed.

_ “You wish to return, “Home,” do you not?” She quietly speaks as we trail behind her. “... Ahead of us lies the end of the Ruins. A one way exit to the rest of the Underground.” _

_ “I am going to  _ **_destroy_ ** _ it.” _

I remembered how Mom was a pacifist, and only taught me how to fight only to defend, and not kill, because that is how it was down here.

_ “Every human that falls down here meets the same fate. I have seen it again and again.” She says, solemnly, her back facing us. “They come. They leave. They  _ **_die_ ** _. You naive child.” She mutters, her shoulders beginning to tense up. “If you leave the Ruins… they…  _ **_Asgore_ ** _ , will kill you.” _

I remembered Dad being the most kindest person I have ever met, who never harmed a single monster soul, who never harmed me, despite being a human being from the Surface.

_ “There is only one solution to this. Prove yourself.” She stands taller, as if readying herself for something. “Prove to me you are strong enough to survive.” _

I remembered Mom being so very careful when it came to battling, because she did not want to injure me at all, in fear of my soul shattering or my body unable to withstand certain hits and blows.

So when Toriel spun around, with flames already sparking up in her hands, I was… shocked. How long have I been gone to have missed out on so much changes around in the Underground? Has it been months? Years? Decades? Toriel isn’t with Dad-  _ Asgore _ , anymore, so did something happened between them? She mentioned humans dying-

Asgore. Asgore killed them all. He killed them because they needed the souls to shatter the Barrier, the task Asriel and I were  _ supposed to- _

I blink back into the presence, where the human is skillfully missing the fireballs skimming past their soul. They’re slightly injured, their sweater a little bit burnt. I shift my gaze to Mo- Toriel and my eyes widen.

She has not been hit once at all.

“What are you doing?” I ask, and the human turns to face my way after swiftly darting out of the way of a flame. “Why are you not attacking?”

They do not respond, instead pressing the Spare button on their phone, and Toriel says something you can’t catch.

“She is trying to  _ kill _ you! And you are just going to stand there and  _ take it? _ ” I snarl, and gesture violently at Toriel, whose expression is beginning to flicker. “You need to  _ fight! _ ”

They do not. They stuff a monster candy into their mouth and dive out the way from her attacks. I throw my hands in the air in frustration.

“You are being  _ stupid! _ Stop  _ sparing her- _ ”

“I know you want to go home, but…”

I freeze and turn to look at her. Her face bears a woeful look.

“But please… go upstairs now.”

The human stays put. Toriel forces a weak smile onto her face.

“I promise I will take good care of you here. I know we do not have much but…” She casts her eyes down to the floor. “We can have a good life here.”

Silence. Her smile falters.

“Why are you making this so difficult?” Her hands are trembling a little. “Please, go upstairs.”

The human takes a step. But it is forward. Not back. Toriel’s lips wobble and she lets out a soft laugh.

“Pathetic, is it not? I cannot save even a single child.” I can almost see Mom’s tears beginning to form. I feel mine slide down my cheeks.  
  
“... No, I understand.” She straightens her back, and blinks away the tears. “You would just be unhappy trapped down here. The Ruins are very small once you get used to them…” A shadow of bittersweet reminiscence passes through her eyes. “It would not be right for you to grow up in a place like this. My expectations… my loneliness… my fear…” She breathes in and exhales. “For you, my child, I will put them aside.”

The battleground fades away.

Mom tells the human to never come back when they leave. She envelops them in a tight hug that the human returns before letting go, and walking back to her home. The human faces forward to the door, unaware that Mom had looked back, eyes filled with longing and love and  _ that warmth _ . I see her, and I so desperately wish that she could see me too, reaching out for her before she walks away.

“... Why?”

The human turns to look at me, brushing away at the ashes that stick on their sweater.

“Why what?”

“Why did you spare her? Or for the matter,” I wring my hands. “Why the Hell did you spare anyone down here at all? They all  _ attacked _ you, with intent to possibly kill, and you just…  _ spared them _ .” I screw up my eyes. “You realise that humans down here are the key to the monsters leaving right? And from the way they acted, from the way they wanted to  _ kill _ you, you decided to… to-”

“They didn’t ask for this.”

“... What?”

“They didn’t ask to be trapped down here.” They fidget with the edges of their sleeves. “They’re scared too. They’re just… afraid. And want to be free. So they want my soul. So they can be free.”

“And what, you are just going to go up to Asgore and give it to him?”

“No, but there has to be a better way. Even if it doesn’t look like it.” They mumble. “... Didn’t you want to save the monsters too when you fell down here?”

“Of course I did! But we had a plan, and it went up in flames! We were supposed to get the human souls and we messed up!  _ He _ messed up and now we are both dead and I am so confused to what is happening at all-”

I hiccup, roughly swiping away at tears.

“It… It wasn’t supposed to be this way. We were supposed to be free, all of us and then… and then…” I shudder and hide my face.

The human gingerly grasps my hand, firm but gentle.

“I don’t know what happened to you. But fighting isn’t the answer. Violence isn’t the answer.” They whisper, squeezing my hand. “We’ll figure it out. Together. Without any fighting.”

I sniff.

“Th-That’s… a good way to get yourself killed, you know?” I shakily breathe out, but further interlock my fingers into the human’s.

“I know.” They laugh quietly. “You know… I never got your name.”

“And I never got yours.” I huff, rolling my eyes.

“It’s Frisk.”

“... Chara.”

They smile, and tug me towards the door.

“Let’s go.”

I want to ask about why I was still alive, and if they had anything to do with me being here right now.

I want to question why our souls were the exact same shade of red, of  _ determination. _

I want to ask,  _ why do you trust me so much when we’ve just met? _

But I don’t ask any of that. Instead, I smile back, for the first time in a long time, and allow Frisk to lead me out of the Ruins, into a whole new Underground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading this fic! For taking the time to read it all the way to the very end. Thank you. I'm sorry this update came a little bit late; I was busy with my artsy stuff. But either way, I hope you enjoyed this fic.
> 
> Please feel free to leave comments on how you felt about it so I can possibly improve in future fics.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to comment to see how I can maybe improve future chapters. Thanks for reading!


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